Review: Colin of Arabia - Pain Machines

Colin of Arabia

Pain Machines

 Double or Nothing Records

Tracklisting:

1. Slowdance
2. Closure
3. You Guys Were Great, Don't Put Gas in Our Van
4. Prozac
5. Federal Extermination Maniacal Agency
6. Spite & Malice
7. Save It for the Judge
8. Never Blend In
9. Arrivederci Motherfucker
10. Badlands, The
11. Slavedriver
12. Counting Lessons in Purgatory
13. Kiss Me Goodbye
14. Closure
15. Introduction of Destruction
16. Casual Casualty
17. Slavedriver
18. Behind This Tongue
19. Slowdance
20. Eye of the Storm
21. 50 Bag of Hate
22. I Fight
23. Badlands, The
24. Kiss Me Goodbye
25. You Guys Were Great, Don't Put Gas in Our Van
26. Prozac
27. Arrivederci Motherfucker
28. Talking
29. Piss All Over Your Hopes & Dreams
30. Everyday I Walk the Same Way Home
31. Ordinary Guy

When discussing Colin of Arabia, whether in a review or on our podcast, it is important that I point out that Colin, lead singer of Colin of Arabia actually kind of frightens me.  Whether it’s hearing stories about his moshpit escapades or watching him perform in a bullet proof vest while taking swings at anyone who gets close to his mic, I have a healthy respect/fear for this Massachusetts hardcore icon. 

Colin’s unpredictability and hatred is also why he makes such an imposing and memorable hardcore frontman.  On Pain Machines, pretty much all of Colin and Co.’s music is collected into one convenient edition.  Each track embodies hatred, violence, and a ‘fuck everything/destroy the world’ that has always been at the heart of hardcore.  I’ve always felt that Colin of Arabia never quite got the recognition that they deserved.  They were always infamous for their actions, which unfortunately meant that their music was often overshadowed.  This is especially disappointing when their songs are taken into consideration.  Tracks like “Prozac” and “Kiss Me Goodbye” meld punk, metal, and hardcore into one giant rage-induced mess that leaves the listener completely satisfied (that sounded oddly sexual, but it’s not....I think...).  The only thing lacking on this release is the sound quality of the live tracks that make up the latter half of the record, but do you really expect to have Colin of Arabia to have expertly mixed, taken straight from a professional soundboard, live recordings?  No, I didn’t think so.

Either way, do yourself a favour and track down a copy of Pain Machines, if only to revel in an anthology that proves how good east coast hardcore can really be sometimes. 

Buy the CD here.

Review: Birds in Row - You, Me, and The Violence

Birds in Row

You, Me, and the Violence

Deathwish

Tracklist:

1. Pilori

2. There Is Only One Chair In This Room

3. Cages

4. Guillotine

5. Walter Freeman

6. Last Last Chance

7. You, Me, & The Violence

8. Grey Hair

9. Cold War Everyday

10. The Illusionist

11. Police & Thieves

12. Lovers Have Their Say

I’ll admit it:  When it comes to hardcore I’ve always been extremely North America-centric.  Although there have always been exceptions, many non-American/Canadian hardcore bands have often seemed behind the times, awkward, or odd derivatives of what was happening in N.A. at the time.  Fortunately, Deathwish Inc. has helped clear up my misconception about European hardcore bands.  As you might have seen here, Lost Tribe quickly fell in Love with Belgium’s Rise and Fall’s latest release, and the new Birds in Row album proves that France should also be taken seriously in the hardcore realm. 

After picking up Vitriol’s amalgamation of Birds in Row’s first two EP’s called Collection, I became enamored with the band.  What I was hearing was definitely hardcore, but it had pronounced metal, punk, and rock influences which were expertly blended and helped give the album a dynamic quality that many hardcore albums lack.

Needless to say, I had high hopes for Birds in Row’s first proper LP (and first Deathwish release), entitled You, Me, and The Violence.  Right off the bat, Birds in Row proves they aren’t fucking around.  “Pilori” and “There is Only One Chair in This Room” hit like a goddamn freight train.  Noisy hardcore done right from the first note.  They continue their ability to mix distorted mayhem with stripped down/clean tracks, with softer tracks like “Last Last Chance” and “Lovers Have Their Say”.  While I often get bored with hardcore bands’ attempts at clean/soft songs, I never find Birds in Row’s forays into these quieter moments forced or unnecessary.  They always add a pleasant break and momentary shift in musical direction.  In other words, it’s a nice and well-placed break in the album.

The final thing I love about Birds in Row is their actual sound.  So many hardcore bands are so distorted and overdriven that it’s hard to make out what is actually happening musically, let alone discern different notes or instruments.  Fortunately, despite being heavy as all hell, this recording allows for a musical clarity that isn’t often present anymore.  I would describe Birds in Row as “Cacophonous” more than anything, but in all of the sonic chaos there is still a coherence and clarity that I think sets this band apart in many ways.

Do yourself a favour and pre-order the album here.